Elevator door frame construction



Oct. 29, 1968 E. HALPERN 3,407,553

ELEVATOR DOOR FRAME- CONSTRUCTION Filed May 4, 1966 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. 1

mvsmon. ERNST HALPERN BY I ATTORNEY Oct. 29, 1968 E. HALFERN 3,407,553

ELEVATOR DOOR FRAME CONSTRUCTION Filed May 4, 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 2

FIG. 3 19d INVENTOR. ERNST HALPERN ATTORN EY 1968 E HALPERN ELEVATOR DOOR FRAME CONSTRUCTION 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed May 4, 1966 INVENTOR ERNST HALPERN WZW ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,407,553 ELEVATOR DOOR FRAME CONSTRUCTION Ernst Halpern, Plainview, N.Y., assignor to Williamsburg Steel Products Company, Brooklyn, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed May 4, v1966, Ser. No. 547,611

2 Claims. (Cl. 52-217) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Means for locating and fixing the position of the vertical irnembers of an elevator door frame of sheet metal con- This invention relates to an elevator door frame construction with means for locating and positioning the vertical members of the door frame.

In the construction and installation of door frames for elevators, it is essential that the door frames on each of the floors leading to the elevator shaft, be accurately located and fixed in position. Proper location of the frames assures that an adequate amount of clearance exists between the sliding doors and the frames, without the presence of visible openings into the elevator shaft. Clearances are required for satisfactory operation of the doors, and

. yet, excessive clearances present disturbing sights to passengers.

Proper location of the door frames is also essential to assure that the frames are joined to the adjacent building -walls in such fashion as to provide a smooth and continuous surface. In fact, in order to comply with various building codes, it is essential that the door frames be properly aligned. Furthermore, improper alignment will interfere with the engagement of the clutching device between the elevator car and the entrance doors with the consequent hazards and dangers.

Improper joining of the frames with the walls may also result in sharp edges which may have injurious effects on passengers. Poor mating of the door frames with the walls may also result in void spaces along the joining line. Such spaces make cleaning and maintenance difiicult. Aside from these practical aspects, improper joining of the door frames to the walls is undesirable from the decorative viewpoint because it presents an unsightly appearance.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide means for accurately aligning elevator doors.

Another object of the present invention is to provide means which are adjustabe for properly locating and positioning vertical members of elevator door frames.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide an adjustable means which. compensates for variations in the manufacture and shape of the elevator door frames.

A further object of the present invention is to adapt the means for locating the door frames and positioning the struts which support the door frames.

Other advantages and features of the present invention appear in the following description and specification taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which:

FIGURE 1 is a front view which illustrates the basic members associated with an elevator door and frame construction.

FIGURE 2 is a sectional top view of the elevator door and frame construction, and shows the positions of ice the brackets used to locate and fix in place the door frames.

FIGURE 3 is a sectional side view taken along line 33 of FIGURE 2, and shows the manner in which the brackets used to locate the vertical members of the elevator door frames, are fixed in place.

FIGURE 4 is an isometric viewshowing one embodiment of the bracket used to locate and fix in'place the door frames, with adjustable features.

FIGURE 5 is an isometric view of another embodiment of the bracket used to locate and fix in place veritcal struts of the door frames with respect to the fioor sill.

FIGURE 6 is an isometric view of the bracket shown in FIGURE 5 when applied to elevator door frames.

As shown in the drawings, the elevator door 10 is suspended from track 11 by means of the hangers 12. The bottom of the door is guided in sill 13 by means of guides 14. Sill 13 is supported by means of a number of angle arrangements 15. The supports 15 rest on a firm base formed by the building floor 16. The vertical struts 17 support the track 11 and hence the door 10 and the hanging hardware for the latter.

The door area leading from a typical floor to the elevator shaft is framed by a sheet metal structure. This door frame 18 must be accurately located and maintained in position. As shown, the frame is curved. However, this configuration is merely illustrative and the frame may be of any shape desired or specified. Such care in constructing and positioning the door frame is necessary so that smooth and proper operation of the elevator doors is assured. In conformance with this requirement, brackets 19, 20 and 21 are provided. These brackets are firmly anchored to the sill support and to the door frame. Thus, bracket 19 serves to adjust the door frame to assure that the correct amount of clearance prevails between the elevator door and the door frame 18. This bracket also ascertains that there is a proper amount of overlap between the door frame and the elevator door when closed, so that there is no visible opening into the elevator shaft. Due to the shape and location of these brackets, 19, 20 and 21, they are commonly known to the trade as Floor Knees.

Brackets 20 and 21 serve to align the door frame with building floor and Wall 22 leading to the entrance of the elevator shaft 23:. In this manner, the curved surface of the door frame 18 mates integrally with the exterior surface of the building wall. The right-hand section of the door frame is shaped to accommodate the non-vision wing 24 of the elevator door. This accordingly gives the door frame a pleasant appearance and blocks the View of the shaft Wall.

The construction of the floor knees or brackets 19, 20 and 21 is illustrated in FIGURE 4. The knee is made adjustable to accommodate variations in its position as well as in the position of the door frame. The knee consists essentially of two sections at right angles to each other. Each of these sections has a slot to admit the shank of a bolt for fastening the knee to the floor structure and to the door frame. Thus, section 19a of bracket 19 for example, is associated with the fioor structure 25. Bolt 26 serves to secure the knee or bracket to this floor structure. Slot 19c allows the position of the bracket to be varied with respect to the bolt and hence with respect to the floor. Similarly, section 19b has a slot 19d for admitting screws 27 to fasten the knee to the door frame. Floor knees 20 and 21 may also be fastened directly to the building fioor in an adjustable manner simply by moving the floor knee along slot 19d. To facilitate the attachment of the knee to the irregular and curved shape of the door frame, a member in the form of a winged-channel 28 is provided. This member 28 is welded to the door frame at its wing areas, and contains holes 29 corresponding to screws or bolts 27. The slot 190! allows variations in the position of member 28 as well as knee 19. The slots 19c and 19d also compensate for the manufacturing variations in the parts and members associated with the knee 19. Holes 29 may be threaded, or threaded nuts may be used to hold the screws or bolts in place. This same principle applied to the fastening of bolt 26 in place. The corresponding hole in structure 25 may be threaded or a nut 30 may be used for securing the bolt.

The relationship of bracket 19 with respect to the door frame, when mounted in place, is illustrated in FIGURE 3. Section 1912 abuts the winged-channel 28 which, in turn, is welded to the door frame 18. Screws 27 hold section 1% to the winged-channel by means of threaded holes in the latter. Section 19a is bolted to the sill bracket and to the sill support 15. Sill bracket 31 serves to retain the sill 13 properly aligned and firmly in place.

Sill bracket 31 also serves as means for supporting facia plates 32. Since governing building codes require the front of the elevator shafts between openings to be flush with the entrance sills, facia plates are provided between openings to cover the area of the interior wall of the elevator shaft between floors. This latter area is ordinarily visible to passengers riding in the elevator car as the latter passes between floors. The facia plates assure a pleasant appearance of this area which, when exposed, presents an um sightly view of conduit, shaft surface, and hardware for hanging the elevator doors. Facia plate 32 is fastened to sill bracket 31 by means of screw 33.

The bracketing means 34 is employed for locating and fastening in place the extended door frame section 18. The manner in which this bracket locates the base of the door frame is shown in FIGURE 6. The bracket is firmly fastened to the fioor sill 13 at the desired location. The door frame 18 is of sheet metal construction and shaped to include a wall 18a, and a lip 180. These walls and lip enclose the bracket 34, and thus the base of door frame 18 may be positioned by merely positioning the bracket with respect to the sill. The construction of the walls 18a and 18b and lip 18c, and the manner in which they engage the bracket 34, makes it unnecessary to fix the door frame 18 to the bracket by means of a fastening device. Thus, movement of the base of the door frame can be realized through mere movement of the bracket.

The method of fixing the bracket 34 to the sill 13, makes use of a slot already present in the sill. The bracket contains holes 37 for admitting bolts 38. The heads of these bolts are located within the slot 36 of the sill 13. Through the application of threaded nuts 39, it is possible to tighten the bolts in place. Thus, the head of the bolt bears against interior surface 36a of the T slot 36, and the nut 39 bears against the top surface of the bracket. The bracket has two sections 34a and 34b at right angle to each other in order to correspond to wall 18a and the top surface of the floor sill. Through the use of two bolts 38 in T slot 36, angular movement of the bracket is inhibited. The bracket contains four holes 37 to allow the bracket to be use interchangeably for left-handed and right-handed doors. For example, if the door opens in the opposite direction to that shown in FIGURE 2, bracket 34 will be located at the other side of the door frame. Similarly, the four holes 37 allow also that the bracket be adaptable to sills in which the T slot is located at the opposite edge to that shown in FIGURE 6. Due to the function for which the bracket 4 34 .is designed, it is commonly known to the trade as the Strike and Return Clip.

The bracket 34 is also adapted to fasten strut 17 firmly to the sill 13. This is accomplished through means of the slot 40 in the section 34a of the bracket. In this case the bracket is turned, and its relationship to the strut and the sill, is illustrated in FIGURE 5. Section 34a ofthe bracket bears in this case, against the sill 13. The bracket is fastened to the sill by means of bolt 41. The head of bolt 41 resides in T slot 36, and fastens bracket 34 in place with the aid of threaded nut 42, in the manner similarly to that described for the configuration of FIGURE 6. Section 34b of the bracket may be fixed to strut 17 through means of the weld 43. Instead of the weld or in conjunction with it, bolts may be passed through one or more of the holes 37 to fasten the. bracket to the strut. Weld 44 of FIG. 6 may be applied in the fashion similar to that of weld 43 of FIG. 5.

While this invention has been described in some detail, it is to be understood that the description is not to be considered as limiting the scope of the invention and that variations and modifications may be made without in any way detracting from the spirit thereof or the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. In an elevator door frame of sheet metal construction, means for locating and fixing the position of the vertical members of the door frame, the means comprising a bracket having a first arm associated with said vertical members of said door frame, and a second arm situated at a right angle to said first arm and fixed to the base upon which said door frame rests, each of the arms having a slot therein for passing fastening members therethrough, said bracket being associated with a winged-channel member fixed to said door frame and situated between said door frame and said bracket, said winged channel member having means receiving the fasteners passing through said slot in said first arm of said bracket, said slots permitting adjutment in the position of said bracket with respect to the vertical members of the door frame and the base upon which said door frame rests.

2. In an elevator door frame of sheet metal construction, means for locating and fixing the position of the vertical members of the door frame, said means comprising a bracket having a first arm associated with the vertical members of the door frame, and a second arm situated at a right angle to the first arm and fixed to the base upon which the door frame rests, said bracket having a longitudinal slot in each of said arms for passing bolts to fasten the bracket in place, the slots allowing for variations in positions of the bracket and door frame, the bracket being associated with a winged-channel member fixed to the vertical door frame members and situated between the door frame and the first arm of the bracket, the winged-channel member having vertically spaced threaded holes to admit bolts for fastening the bracket to the channel member.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,848,045 3/1932 Campbell 52-213 FOREIGN PATENTS 826,175 12/ 1959 Great Britain.

KENNETH DOWN EY, Primary Examiner. 

